Emara: The Maiden and the Dragon
by Kamen Rider Raika
Summary: (Emara: Emirates Hero, pre-webseries one-shot, contains elements of Kamen Rider.) A little girl gone missing in Dubai, and kidnappers hiding from the police? Sounds like a job for Emara, hero of the United Arab Emirates. However, she's not the only one looking for this lost girl as Emara finds someone from out of town...


**Disclaimer: _Emara: Emirates' Hero_ belongs to Fatma Almheiri and Eating Stars Studios. Kamen Rider belongs to Toei and Ishinomori. Any original characters are based/inspired by both properties.**

**AN: Well, this is a strange (and possibly dumb) fanfic, isn't it?**

**Welp, here's the short(er) version: this is a fanfiction of Eating Stars Studios' _Emara: Emirates Hero_, an animated series surrounding the titular cybernetic hero who fights in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (the same place the show was made). Learning that _Emara _was inspired by anime superheroes whose shows were imported and dubbed in Arabic, I decided to have a meeting and mixture of two Muslim-dominated countries, each influenced by a different type of Japanese media (one animation, and live-action for the other)..**

**I would encourage you to watch Emara's five episodes (each are ten-minute) available for free on YouTube. As for this story… well, all I can say is "I _hope _you enjoy it."**

* * *

"_Breaking news: Daughter of foreign millionaire kidnapped in broad daylight-_"

"_Lost little girl in Dubai-_"

"_-parents received a note demanding a ransom in exchange of the girl-_"

"_-police tracking mysterious masked men behind the disappearance-_"

"_-kidnappers were recently spotted near the-_"

Emara, hero of the United Arab Emirates, drowned the rest away. Swinging on her grappling hook, she passed through her home city of Dubai with her red and black cape billowing behind.

Even at night, the hustle and bustle was as busy as it was during the day. The thousands of lights shone on her green uniform, white gloves, dark headscarf, and red beanie cap. The call for prayer already came half an hour ago, but many still stayed awake past it instead of going straight to bed, and none noticed the girl swinging through the night sky.

Emara tugged her arm, disengaging her grappling hook. The hook itself retracted _into _her forearm arm, and the plates of the hulking cylinder shifted and reformatted back into her normal five-finger limb. The minute she landed on the roof of a low-level building, she went to the edge and stared through her orange, near-transparent goggles at the police cars waiting by the shop across.

Drat. She was too late.

Ducking her head, Emara had a clear view of the scene below. As the police scrambled to their vehicles, their big and buff head officer was waiting for some news. "She couldn't have gotten far," Emara heard Uncle-no, _Chief-_Jasim say into his radio. "Extend your search to the eastern sector. I want every man searching for her!"

Emara could only watch with curiosity. The missing girl wasn't here? The shop was the last place she had been spotted, according to the news. Maybe there was some clue left behind.

After a quick glance, Emara took some steps back and ran, hopping from her rooftop to the shop's. Fortunately, no one seemed to notice her landing or entering through the roof's door latch. The inside seemed to be empty, though Emara quickly learned why.

"Ugh!"

Her nose cringed from the smell of damp wood so she quickly covered it. Searching around, She could tell from the cracks in the wall, floor, and even in the glass cases that the old shop had been abandoned long ago. Unlike the fresh footprints on the floor.

Kneeling closer to the prints, and gagging from the horrid stench, Emara studied them. There were only three pairs-two were large and dark like soot, clearly different from the tiny feet dragging behind. Curious, Emara kept her head down and followed the tracks.

They led across the shop, through the broken down doorways, and out to the alley. The minute she stepped out the back door, Emara noticed something other than the clearer air. She picked it from the ground and felt the soft fabric in her hand. The headscarf was a lot like her own, save for the dirtied marks and tears. No doubt, it belonged to the missing girl, and Emara only hoped she was safe.

Glancing her eyes away, she noticed a pair of white eyes on her.

Emara whirled, her free hand shifting again into an advanced cannon. "I know you're there!" she called out to the eyes.

The eyes silently moved towards Emara, but they froze when she lit the the alley with the faint blue flow of her arm-cannon. "Step out nice and easy," she warned. "You don't want me to use this on you."

Slowly, the eyes listened. Thick boots and raised gloves, both as white as the eyes and covered in silver metallic finishes, stepped out. An equally white scarf hung from the neck and dangled over a red chest. Dim light gleamed off shoulder guards and an undersuit, red like the chest. They, and the large white belt, bulged under the bulky body of the one wearing them. And those eyes, slanted like a reptile's, were separated by the thick, jagged, and white line running down the faceless red helmet they were imbedded into.

Emara eyed the "guy" standing a head taller than her. "Uh… okay?" she said, not sure how to take this stranger. "Just who are you?"

Hands still raised, the stranger in question said nothing. "Well, aren't you going to say anything?" Emara pressed for information.

Again, there was silence. Then, something clicked in Emara's head. It would be hard to miss a man in red and white armor without gaining some attention, and Emara never heard of anyone like him… At least, not in Dubai.

At last, Emara disengaged her arm-cannon and asked a little gently, "You… aren't from around here, are you?"

She guessed correctly as the man shook his large helmeted head.

"Can you understand me?" To Emara's relief, the mystery man nodded. "Can you tell me why you're here?"

He reached behind his back and held up a photograph. In it, standing happily between her parents was a little Indonesian girl, dressed in a familiar dark gown and headscarf. The same headscarf Emara held in her hand.

"That's…" Emara said and took the photo in her hand. "That's the missing girl. Are you looking for her too?" The mystery man lowered his arms and nodded again. "Do you know where she is?"

This time, Emara was given with a slip of paper. Emara took it too, and a foreboding sense of dread dropped to her stomach when she read what was written on it: "_Come alone, if you want her back. Bring the money._"

A _tap, tap_ brought her back to the stranger. His finger tapped on his massive chest before he emphatically pointed it at Emara. "You need my help?" she asked, and there was another nod.

Not wanting to refuse the plea, Emara stared down again. Clutching the headscarf and photo in one hand, her other hand flipped the note. Her eyes widened at the scribbles, an address, on the back, and she exclaimed, "I know this place!"

The ground almost shook under the stranger's boot, surprising Emara ad he neared her. Quickly, she answered the unspoken question. "I know this place. I can show you where it is…" she said then hesitated, "... only how are we going to get there in time?"

To that, her acquaintance reached for his white buckle and flicked one of the many switches on it. The growl of an engine echoed, and a pair of headlights shone at the end of the back alley, to the surprise of Emara. "Oh."

* * *

All seemed quiet to the lone black-garbed goon. While in front of the not-so abandoned warehouse on the empty street, he stood guard and kept watch for anything suspicious. So far, all he had seen were just a few cats. There was nothing exciting or interesting that happened.

That was until he found a pair of light zooming towards him.

The eyeholes in the goon's mask widened as he jumped out of the way, barely catching sight of white stripes on a red strange, sleek car. Before he knew it, the car he tried to avoid, rammed through the door with a loud _CRASH_.

The dark warehouse, large and only filled with a few barrels, lit from the barging car. Inside, tables had been knocked over, splattering drinks with cards. Caught off guard, the whole group of black-clad thieves, robbers, and other scum and villains turned tail and ran from zooming vehicle. Their screams were deafened by the screech of tires as the car veered off to one side and swung dangerously close to them.

No one had time to recover from the vehicle. Any bullets and guns had been thrown across the floor to be run over. Most of the goons were lucky enough to dodge in time, so scared that they crashed through the windows on their way out. The only exception was the goon who was supposed to be outside, watching out for any sign of trouble.

The same goon rushed inside, just in time to see the chaos. He sadly was left unaware of the shadow approaching from behind until he turned-

-and a girl's white boot _whammed_ into his face!

Swooping inside the warehouse, Emara rolled on the ground and came back up with fists clenched in a combat-ready stance, light pouring from behind her. "Alright fellas, put your hands up!" she ordered.

Any remaining goons, who weren't running for their lives, responded by pulling out guns, sticks, crowbars, and anything they could get their hands on. Emara crouched into her stance, ready to get into action as she had for weeks on end. Being the lady she was, she let the first four goons charge at her and get within range.

Then, like a lioness, she pounced. She went for the closest goon, delivering a surprise kick to his face. After the first goon and his stick touched ground, Emara stepped back from the second's crowbar-once, then twice. At three, Emara grabbed his shirt and tossed him into the third man coming at her side.

Her feet once again bounced as she backflipped away from an incoming crowbar and taunted her black-clad attacker. "You guys really..."

After soaring for a bit, she bounced back on her feet-

"... should do a better job..."

-and pulled her right fist back, it shifting again.

"... at hiding yourselves!"

A white and oversized knucklebuster, propelled by tiny rockets on the back, sent the goon crashing into previous three like a bowling ball into pins. Emara stood over the pile of knocked-out thugs and smirked, whipping out her smartphone and waving it in her free hand. "Not exactly smart of you to leave an address anyone can look up. Now, why don't you tell me where your hostage is and I'll-"

A _bang _struck the phone out of Emara's hand. It clattered on the floor with smoking bullet lodged in the glass. "Hey!" Emara glared at the gun-toting goon.

More bullets were fired, but the strange car swerved in to deflect shots meant for Emara. Before the goon could fire again, he fell to the door of the mysterious car. Its driver, aka the tall man in red and white armor, stepped out with white lenses glancing around. His look caught the attention of another goon ready to fire. "Look out!" Emara shouted and swung a grappling hook.

It wrapped around the goon's arm, skewing his aim and throwing him into the car. Emara received no thanks but she didn't need it. She needed to find the hostage. "Well," Emara said, walking over to her alle, "that leaves… everyone, I think."

The masked man beside her grunted. One hand grabbing on a fallen goon's shirt, he dragged the body from the floor and tossed it into the air. A loud cry later, two bodies fell from a catwalk above and onto a pile of boxes. "Okay, maybe more," Emara muttered and looked up to the catwalk.

There had been more. Three more, to be precise; a short man with a mustache, a gangly man with green hair, and a large, muscular man in between them. Emara recognized the trio for their purple clothing, dark eye masks, and identical hats with a pinkish stripe.

"Well, if it isn't the Three Stooges," she drawled. "Now, why don't you make thing easy and tell us where the girl is?!"

Of the three watching from above, the giant flashed a grin, a strong hand reaching to his side. Again, Emara slightly turned to her ally-the one called Jakar. For the first time since she saw him, his body was tense at the sight of the tiny figure dangling from the boss' hand. It was the missing girl, hair flowing, bound, gagged, and blindfolded.

"Let her go!" Emara immediately demanded, only to hear three annoying chuckles answer her.

Above, the giant ripped off the gag, hoping for a cry. It did, coming out as "Jakar, are you there?!"

"Jakar?" Emara echoed, glancing at the masked man next to her.

He only responded with a loud _STOMP_, shaking the entire floor. The vibration was so strong it went up the catwalk, and the three goons shook from it. Emara would have glared if not for the girl above.

"Hah, you're gonna get it now! Just you wait, Jakar's gonna make you pay!" she shouted, and the frowning giant pulled her back onto the catwalk with his fellow, frowning criminals.

Emara below blinked in surprise, almost impressed. "She has a bit of a personality, doesn't she?" she said, completely unaware of the now-identified Jakar's (possibly incredulous) gaze on her.

His white optics and Emara's orange goggles were drawn to the big man's feet _CRASHING _on the floor, cracking it with his massive weight. Standing as tall as Jakar, he lit up like a firework and smiled wickedly while his knuckles went _crick-crack_. Emara prepared herself for what was to come and–

_BANG!_

–barely dodged a surprise shot from above. She glared up at the two criminals on the catwalk, the one with a mustache aiming another shot. She moved to the side. Hopping to one side and shifting her right arm, Emara dodged the next bullet and raised a white arm-gun at the goon.

However, Emara was unprepared for Jakar to grab her cape. "Hey!" she objected.

By then, Jakar had already swung Emara upwards. She soared, her eyes briefly seeing the boss charge at Jakar. She had no time to worry as she twisted her body. Her arms shifted into gigantic rockets that, once she landed on the catwalk, lit up with flame and sent both the mustached man and the greenette to either end of the catwalk.

With her opposition pushed aside, Emara went to the prone little girl wiggling against her bindings. "It's alright, I'm a friend," Emara said gently to the captive, grabbing the blindfold. "Don't worry, I'll get you out…"

With the blindfold gone, the girl sat up with eyes wide. "Emara! Oh, my gosh, I'm your biggest-"

"Thanks, but you need to get out of here," Emara said, untying the girl.

Freed, the girl looked over the railing. Her eyes widened seeing the masked man dodging the black-clad bad guy's fists. "Wait, is that Jakar?!" the girl exclaimed, unaware of an goon coming from the other end. "Kick his butt-!"

"Watch out!" With one hand, Emara yanked the girl close to her, and a thrown crowbar hit the catwalk's railing instead of the girl.

As it fell, Emara lunged at the greenette who threw it, putting him down with a free knucklebuster. "Stick close to me!" she told the girl.

"But Jakar!" the girl protested, drawing Emara's gaze downward as she went for the staircase.

Below, a giant fist breezed past a sidestepping Jakar. He backed away from another flurry of jabs and punches, knowing just one would knock the wind of his body. Jakar retaliated with an undercut to the giant's stomach. It was like hitting rock, but it did the job as the criminal skidded back.

Jakar's bulging body released a controlled breath of anger, and the floor rumbled under his running feet. His fists, clenched and held up, fired a round of punches. Each one were not as fast as they could have been, but they kept Jakar's enemy on the defensive while dodging.

Seeing a fist coming at him, Jakar held his arms in front. "Ugh!" he grunted and took several steps back from his enemy.

Said enemy stood there, outstretched fist shaking with rage and grin faltering for the second time. Jakar charged, both hands sparking with electricity. One touch would stun a goon. More than that would be enough to put down this criminal once and for all, so Jakar lunged one gloved hand stretched out-

-and the criminal caught it by the wrist, the quick sparks revealing his maniacal grin.

Briefly surprised, Jakar struck with his other sparking hand. The giant caught that too in his other hand. Unaffected by the surge of electricity, he struggled against Jakar's strength. Jakar himself fought back with all he could. The two were caught in their tussle, one trying to overwhelm the other.

Off to the side, Jakar was unaware of the third criminal with the mustache, who just ran down to the ground floor. From his spot, he pulled out an ebony pistol, and a tiny _click _followed. Just one shot would do and-

"HEY!" shouted Emara from the side, catching the shooter's attention.

He turned and barely saw the captive on Emara's side before the hero's white knucklebuster collided with his side. "Kiiiiiii!" he screamed when sent flying back to the far wall, which echoed with a loud _thud_.

The giant grappling with Jakar glanced to his downed comrade. A costly mistake for Jakar took the large man, planted his right boot in the stomach, and thrown him to the side. A louder _thud_ struck the wall where the mustached goon laid, and the bigger criminal left an even bigger crack next to the first one as he fell to his knees. The two of them were quick to get up, joined by their third partner with the green hair.

In front of them, Emara stood beside Jakar and said, "There's no way for you to escape. Give up, now!"

"Yeah!" shouted the ex-captive, letting go of Emara's side.

The trio's glare turned to the little girl. They then looked at each other, grinning as they looked at the two obstacles between them and their target. Among them, the mustached man raised his gun-

Emara rose her knucklebuster, and Jakar took a mighty step forward.

-and the greenette hefted a gigantic bazooka onto his shoulder. With maniacal glee, he fired it upwards.

_KA-BOOM!_

Before anyone noticed it, the catwalk's two halves fell from above, bringing out flame and smoke with them. "Watch out!" Emara shouted, rushing to the girl's side.

Jakar, the closest to the girl, quickly pushed her aside. "Kya!" the girl screamed before falling on the ground safely.

Jakar, on the other hand, grunted as he caught the metal railing. The weight of the railing forced him on his knees, while the rest of the flaming metal struck the ground. Over the loud _CLANGS_, he, Emara, and the girl coughed from the spreading smoke. "Ugh!" Emara groaned, one hand over her mouth and nose. Seeing the trapped Jakar, she yelled, "Don't worry… I'll get you out!"

The girl, noticing herself, went on her feet. "Jakar!"

"Get away!" Emara warned her, just noticing three more shapes running through the smoke.

The warning came too late. The big man snatched the girl up in one arm and was followed by his comrades, all them flashing their terrible grins at Emara. From atop the giant's shoulder, their hostage screamed, "Let go of me! HEEEELLLLP!"

The cry vanished into the smoke with the four, and Emara took after the criminals. She stopped, her eyes darted between the prone Jakar, the fire spreading all around, and the other lowlifes running for any exit they could find after seeing fire. Emara knew she had to escape before the place went up in flames. But she had to save Jakar. But she also had to save the girl. She had to-

"Go!" Emara heard.

She whirled to Jakar. Though straining under the railing on fire, the older hero's white eyes stared back, and a deep, guttural sound strained itself out of his helmet: "Go! _Now_!"

Emara's eyes widened. Then, they narrowed in determination at someone in need right now. "Hold on!" she told Jakar, raising her knucklebuster.

In the roaring flames, metal bent under constant consecutive _BANGS_ of Emara's punches until it _snapped_. A large portion of the halved catwalk out of the way, Emara quickly grabbed the rest on Jakar. "Hrgh!" she grunted and heaved it off, sending it _clanging _to the side.

Jakar slowly rose to his feet, Emara helping him on his side. "Easy," she said then covered her face with her cape, her eyes on the surrounding fire and smoke. "Ugh! We have to get out of here fast or-!"

Emara stopped. Her eyes drew down to the buckle on Jakar's waist, her mind thinking on what it did when she met him. "Let's hope this work," she murmured and flicked the same switch she remembered.

Thankfully, there was a roar over the flames.

* * *

"JAKAR!"

The little girl who called for him went ignored. Dragged away, her eyes glowed worryingly at the fire venting out of the warehouse's windows and into the night sky above. The loud fire alarms drowned away her screams and the rushed footsteps of her captors. They stumbled their way towards the dark jeep waiting for them by the road, and the girl, her little body bouncing atop the giant's shoulder, screeched again.

"JAKAR!"

The giant heaved the girl off his shoulder, throwing her into the opened jeep before he himself joined in. She let out an "oof" and thrashed against the goon whose huge shoulder pinned her down. Vainly trying to break free and fight, the girl screamed, "Let me go! Let me-"

_VRRRRRMMM!_

Captive and captors alike turned to the flaming warehouse. The doors to the place opened, and out of fire drove a long, red vehicle. The criminals barely caught the white stripes on the familiar sleek car before it turned, aiming its headlights right on the jeep. And as it did, the girl's eyes widened at the masked driver and his young, caped passenger.

The criminals quickly got in their escape vehicle, the one in green hair putting the pedal to the metal. "Oof!" the girl yelled again, jostling towards one of her kidnappers, as the jeep drove off with her in it.

Held tightly in a goon's arms, all the little captive did was watch. Still, that gave her hope. Jakar's retro-looking car speed behind. The street lamps flashed over its curved hood, one after the other, and the flashes grew quicker with the car following a trail of dark tire marks.

The other criminal, with the mustache and gun, took aim. The jeep shook and swerved to one side of the street, and the shooting goon ended up firing several unintentional shots. Each bullet either hit the ground or ricocheted off the hood of Jakar's car in sharp repetition of _clink, clink_, and_ clink_.

To the girl's surprise and relief, Jakar's car remained unaffected and undeterred from the chase. Jakar's eyes, glowing through the darkened windshield, blurred while he moved his car from one side of the road to the other and back. With his hands on the steering wheel, he went to great lengths of dodging any more bullets coming at him and Emara.

Speaking of Emara, a red beret popping through the opened roof of Jakar's car. The girl saw it, just for a second, before the jeep took a sharp right.

The shooting goon jostled and fell out from the back of the jeep, unlike his comrades and the girl who remained seated. The jeep drove off, heading towards a brighter and busier market street. Shocked faces of bystanders blurred by the jeep, as many tried to get out of the way. Jakar's car turned into full view, with Emara fully popping out of the roof and clear to see for the girl and the criminals. "Yeah!" the former grinned at the sight of Emara's cape heroically flapping her.

The girl's cry brought a "Grr…" from the driver as he pushed down on his pedal. So sure of his own driving, he failed to notice two cables shooting from Jakar's car. The cables dug into the back bumper, the hooks on each jutting through metal in loud _clangs_. The girl and her guard jumped away in surprise, both their yelps drowned by loud _screeching_ tires.

Jakar's car drew back, and the cables snapped with a sharp _twang_. The jeep itself, as much as it tried to move forward, slowed down. To the girl's eyes, Jakar reversed back, his car pulling as much as it could and putting the criminal's getaway vehicle to a stop.

The girl shook again in the startled jeep, its driver having knocked his head into wheel. "Uhhh…" he groaned.

Groaning herself, the girl looked back to Jakar, pushing on the breaks of his vehicle until it stopped.

Emara, however, didn't. She was thrown off Jakar's car and flew upwards upwards. Eyes of the girl and the criminals followed Emara as she began to arch over the stalled jeep.

Time slowed for everyone in the jeep. Emara hung in the air, her eyes went downward. She aimed one arm, and a long, white cable shot at the jeep, specifically the back. The girl only just saw the cable come at her, and she barely registered a claw grabbing her arm.

Beginning to fall, Emara twisted her body and pulled her arm back with all her might-

The giant, his eyes wide, immediately lunged.

-yanking the girl up and away from the criminal trying to grab his hostage.

The girl in question didn't see her captors or their jeep. She only saw the curving cable against the blurring building and sights. She had no time to scream either, colliding into a feminine body in green cloth.

Then, time resumed. Gravity _pulled_. And the girl closed her eyes as she fell with Emara.

Emara's legs _thudded _on the ground, and a tiny "Ah!" left her. The ex-captive opened her eyes to the face of Emara, kneeling on the street and carrying her tiny body in her arms. "I got you!" she beamed a proud smile.

Two loud _stomps_ suddenly caught hers and the girl's attention. It was the giant, exiting the jeep and growling in anger. His arms were held wide in a gripping gesture, ready to tear his prize from Emara's grasp. The girl gripped her new protector's uniform in fear of what may happen to them.

Emara merely grinned.

That confused the girl until a larger shadow fell on the equally-perplexed giant. Said giant turned, met with a crackling boot to his face. The roundhouse kick sent him into the air, and he shook and shuddered from the electricity dancing over all over his body. "Gak-gak-gak!" left the giant's lips.

At last, the final criminal _plopped_ on the street, wisps of smoke rising from his prone body. The victorious Jakar stood over him, ignoring the shocked bystanders and their blinking camera phone. His white gaze left the stunned man at his feet for the little girl.

Emara had already set her on the ground. If the girl had any more to say, it was cut off by another, more worrying thought. "Oh no!" she grabbed her uncovered head. "Ah, I don't have my scarf!"

Emara might have sighed, but Jakar approached in a heartbeat. After shaking the road with his steps, he undid his scarf, pulling it from his neck and gently placing the white sheet of cloth on the little girl's head. Yet, Jakar, a hero with large fingers, only got as far as bringing the ends down. "Hmm…" the large hero rumbled, unable to tie a tiny cloth together.

From the girl's other side, Emara chuckled at the sight. "Here, let me," she offered. Jakar backed away and allowed Emara to tie the cloth into a nice little headscarf using more manageable hands. "There, that's how you do it."

After testing out the cloth on her head, the little girl confirmed with a smile. "It's comfy!"

"Hrmm…" Jakar grunted softly and stood.

Emara stood with him, but she stopped, rising awkwardly on one leg. "Ah!" the younger hero winced.

The grateful little girl gasped, "You're hurt!"

Emara, though limping a little, stood straight and smiled. "It's nothing," she assured while putting more weight on her good leg.

The girl carried that same look of concern. Jakar's helmet and posture hid anything akin to concern, only showing the slightest surprise to police sirens ringing in the distance. The eyes of Emara and the little girl turned to the same direction. "Oh! I should go!" Emara said and began to limp away.

The girl opened her mouth, but stopped. Jakar was also making his heroic departure, having turned around in the opposite direction and making his way to his car. The girl, whom he and Emara had rescued, darted her gaze between the two. Then, she called to them:

"Wait!"

Each hero stopped on either side of the girl, each sparing her a long glance. The rescued little one swallowed, first looking to Jakar. "Thanks for saving me!" The girl turned to Emara next. "Both of you!"

Emara, smiling slightly, rose her gaze to Jakar on the other side. The masked man simply nodded his head and returned on his path to his car. However, on his way, Jakar rose his right glove by his head, hand clenched in a victorious fist.

Smiling, the girl proudly rose her own tiny fist above her covered head, trying mimic the salute. She gave the same to a smiling Emara, who soon blasted off at the same time Jakar had driven away...

* * *

"So, the Dragon of Jakarta has reappeared…"

The words drawled out of Zeina's pursed lips, while her gaze was fixated on her laptop. Behind her purple-tinted shades, her eyes studied the picture taken from a few hours ago. It was of Jakar and Emara, front and center with the missing little girl. Despite the lack of light in Zeina's personal office, the image was clear to see and so was the headline above it: "_EMARA SAVES MILLIONAIRE'S DAUGHTER WITH MYSTERY HERO!_"

"What should we do, boss?" the Lebanese woman heard Ali, who stood beside her desk. Zeina's peripheral vision noticed her right-hand's frowning face, something that was always present for the red-headed Egyptian.

"Keep tabs on him, but nothing more," she instructed. "Once Jakar's out of the country, do not pursue. He's not the one what we're after."

"And what about our… 'agent?'" Ali asked, almost sneering at the last word.

Zeina, closing her laptop with one gloved hand, replied, "He's still getting ready. He said he needed time to prepare his new outfit."

Ali snorted. "At this rate, he'll take up the entire mission looking for a costume."

For a long moment, Zeina was silent on that. Her long blond ponytail swerved with her as she faced the opening door. The newcomer at the entrance stood there, obscured by the limited lighting. Still, it was easy to spot the white front, dark sleeves, and golden trim on his body.

"Well," Zeina asked her agent, "are you ready?"

To that, the agent smiled…

* * *

The hours between nighttime and daylight went by quickly for Emara. With no sign of Jakar anywhere and the police swarming the area, she snuck back home through the back alleys. She sadly slept a wink, and when the new day arrived, it was time for Emara-or rather Moza, the simple and very tired Emirati girl-to attend to her daily job and help serve drinks in her mother's cafe.

Carrying a tray of drinks, Moza winced upon walking with her bruised leg. Since she didn't have her costume on, she hid it quickly with a smile, to show the customers that she was bright and cheerful as her pink gown and headscarf. Hiding that limp of hers made things a tad more difficult, but she soldiered on and said she just "banged her foot while sleeping." After serving drinks to one table, Moza turned to head back to the counter-

-only to be met by a small head covered in white.

"Woah!" Moza said as she stopped herself. Her tray was thankfully empty, so nothing spilled on the floor.

"Sorry!"

"It's okay," Moza said with a smile. Looking down, her eyes widened at whom she almost bumped into. "Wait, aren't you…?"

It was. It was indeed the little girl from last night, looking up with those innocent eyes. And she still wore that white cloth as a headscarf. "Are you okay?" the girl asked.

"Y-yeah!" Moza replied with a smile. She cleared her throat and asked, "So, what are you doing here? You shouldn't be out here by yourself."

"I'm not. My mom and dad are outside. I'm here to meet someone!"

"Really? Who?"

Before the girl could open her mouth to reply, two _thuds_ came off the floor. Moza's legs wobbled, surprised by the large man who appeared behind the tiny girl. Hunching over, he looked as dark as the Indonesian girl, and his hair was almost as white his headcap and garment. Moza recognized him as a customer, but she didn't know what he wanted.

"Grandpa!" the little girl cried, jumping up to hug the old man's waist.

"Aww…" Moza sighed, happily watching the old man hug his granddaughter with one arm.

The girl unwrapped her arms, but she couldn't contain her excitement. The old man asked something, to which the girl shook her head and replied back with firm belief. Moza stood there, watching the one-sided conversation unfold as the little girl went on and on about what were definitely last night's events. The names of "Emara" and "Jakar' were thrown around in the story, especially at the end when the girl pointed to her new headscarf for emphasis and unknowingly switched over to Arabic.

"... he even gave me this! And that cool Emara hero helped to tie it! Eeeeeee, I can't wait to get back home and tell everyone! They'll be soooo jealous!"

The old man smiled at his granddaughter, and Moza herself couldn't help but giggle. Remembering she was in front of a customer, Moza asked, "Did you like your tea, sir?"

The old man whispered something to his granddaughter who translated, "Grandpa says he likes it!" Moza, eyebrow raised, listened to the girl continue, "Grandpa doesn't speak Arabic. He knows a little bit, but I know more than him, so I help him when he doesn't want to talk to anyone-"

"Ahem!" the girl's grandfather coughed.

"Oh right! Gotta go!" the girl exclaimed and went for the door, waving behind her. "Bye-bye!"

"Bye!" Moza waved a free sleeve at the girl then looked to the old man in front. "You have an interesting granddaughter."

The old giant chuckled, nodding his round head in agreement and holding up the checkbook in one hand. "Ah, thank you," a smiling Moza said as she accepted the checkbook, even if the recipient couldn't answer her.

The old man, inching his head a little closer, smiled and whispered, "No. Thank you, Emara."

Moza's eyes widened. "What-" she started, but the old man had already turned around to follow after his granddaughter in those big, slow steps.

As he did, the old man stood tall and raised his right fist by his head, saluting Moza on his way out.

Moza stared at the now-empty space in front of her mother's cafe. Having nothing else to do without looking suspicious, she looked back at the checkbook and opened it. Again, she was surprised, this time finding her old phone she dropped last night and now with a bullet hole in the glass. She was too busy with it to notice a sports car, with a dull red color, zooming by.

Moza stuffed her phone in her long sleeve before she went back to serving. The old man would be long gone when Moza was finished, back to the country he came from, so there was no point to chase him down. She would to settle with thanking next time.

Then again, who could say when Emara would see Jakar again?

* * *

**AN: Alright, so that's the end of this strange story. I hope you'll leave a review and let me know what you think (what works/didn't work, good/bad/meh, etc.).**

**Like I said before, this is a fanfiction of _Emara: Emirates' Hero_ by Eating Stars Studios. I found this series out when it first aired in May 2018 (Ramadan, for me), and I would encourage you to watch it. There is nothing deep about this superhero show, but the cultural elements of Middle East (and anime references/rip-offs) are nice little touches, and I'm a sucker for independent works, so this immediately caught my eye. The animation is decent (for an independent work), and I liked the characters. Some of the voices, specifically the male ones, are so-so at best, but that is only in the English dub, as the show is also available in Arabic with better voices and English subtitles (if you prefer).**

**_Emara _exposed me to Middle Eastern animation (which I barely knew beforehand) and takes a whole lot of inspiration from anime imported into the region (which I didn't know about until discovering the series). Seeing that, I ended up thinking back to my own love of tokusatsu, the live-action superheroes of Japan that wear rubber suits (e.g. Power Rangers/Super Sentai, its older sister series Kamen Rider, Ultraman, etc.). From there, I wondered: "Hey, what if Emara (a superhero in a Muslim country) met a superhero another Muslim country who's like a Kamen Rider?"**

**My answer came from Indonesia, a country which I believe is known for its love of tokusatsu. The rest was a LONG history of writing and rewriting this sucker to make it the slightest bit good. That being said, this isn't the first fanfic of _Emara_ nor is it the best out there (heck, it's probably not that good). Nonetheless, I do hope you've enjoyed it.**

**Raika out.**


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